Time to Say Goodbye by S.D. Robertson

Author:S.D. Robertson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008100681
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2015-10-15T14:41:18.110000+00:00

CHAPTER 18

TWENTY-TWO DAYS LEFT

Ella and I were sitting in her princess castle when a shadow fell across it and I heard the muffled sound of movement on the other side.

‘What is that, Daddy?’ she asked, terror etched across her face.

I tried to reply, to reassure her, only to find that I was frozen. I couldn’t even speak as, to my horror, the presence crept around the tent, rustling here and scratching there, until it eventually stopped by the door. There was an irregular sniffing sound and then the zip started to open.

‘I’m scared,’ Ella whispered. ‘What’s happening?’

Despite my own fear, I was desperate to protect my daughter. But it was useless: I was paralysed.

‘Daddy!’ she cried. ‘Wake up!’

My eyes snapped open and I was lying on my parents’ couch, Ella standing before me. ‘Are you all right? I think you were having a nightmare.’

‘Darling,’ I replied, stunned for a moment as I shook off the false reality of my dream. ‘Thank goodness.’

‘Was it a scary one?’ Ella asked, making me wish I could pull her into a hug. ‘What was it about?’

‘Just some nonsense. I’m fine now. What time is it?’

She ran to the silver carriage clock on the mantelpiece and squinted at it. ‘Um. The little hand is on six, I think, and the big hand is almost at the top. Is that six o’clock?’

‘That sounds right, love. Well done.’

‘We’ve been practising at school. Mrs Afzal said I did a super job.’

I chuckled. ‘I’m sure she did. That’s early, though. Don’t you want to sleep some more?’

‘No. I’m wide awake. Can we do something?’

‘Are Nana and Auntie Lauren still asleep?’

‘Yep. I peeked in on them.’

‘Fine. What would you like to do?’

‘Can we play Ginger Man?’ she asked, jumping up and down on the spot.

She was referring to a video game we used to play together. That wasn’t its actual name; she’d called it that when she was younger, because she thought the main character looked like a gingerbread man, and it had stuck.

‘I wish we could,’ I replied, ‘but the console’s not set up here. Even if it was, my days of holding a controller are long gone.’

Ella pulled a sad face. ‘Not fair.’

‘Sorry, darling. I agree, but there’s nothing I can do.’

I suggested playing Connect Four instead, as long as she didn’t mind making my moves for me.

She agreed, although it was hard not to miss the disappointed look on her face.

We had fun all the same, switching to draughts when we needed a change. Our conversation was comfortably sparse, never straying far from the game at hand. And when thoughts about my trip to the future fluttered into my mind, I told myself that I might have dreamed the whole thing. That was possible, wasn’t it?

I looked over at the clock and was surprised to see it was already after 7 a.m. ‘I think we’d better call it a day, Ella. The others will be up soon. They might think it a bit odd to see you playing against yourself like this.

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